By OMVIC Communications on
Friday, November 23, 2018
How did Black Friday — the day of mega-amazing colossal unbelievable can’t-be-beat blow-out sales signifying the unofficial start of the Christmas shopping season — get its name? Some would say Black Friday marks the point many retailers turn a profit for the year, going from being “in the red” to being “in the black.” The more cynical among us might argue it’s consumerism run amok and a black mark on our society. Though the origins of the name may be debatable, the lure of Black Friday is undeniable.
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By OMVIC Communications on
Friday, November 16, 2018
Admit it. Most of us can be…a little superficial. Maybe your winter coat is Canada Goose, your boots are Sorel and your fleece is Arc’teryx; you order double ristretto venti half-soy nonfat decaf organic chocolate brownie iced vanilla double-shot gingerbread Frappuccino extra hot with foam whipped cream upside down double blended, one Low and one NutraSweet, and ice because it’s Starbucks and no one drinks ‘coffee’ anymore, and; you want to buy that ruggedly sexy SUV you’ve seen on safari travel shows; the one all the celebs drive, cuz you know, it will undoubtedly impress your friends. Yes, about some things – we can be brand snobs.
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By OMVIC Communications on
Friday, November 9, 2018
When buying a car privately or from a registered dealer, consumers have to learn to protect themselves; and one of the key steps is taking a thorough test drive – not just around the block!
To get the most out of a test drive OMVIC suggests consumers follow these 5 tips, read more.
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By OMVIC Communications on
Friday, November 2, 2018
Thinking about buying a car in Ontario? OMVIC has an interactive Car-Buying Quiz to help educate consumers about their rights.
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By OMVIC Communications on
Friday, October 26, 2018
A former Scarborough car dealer, Min Tian o/a Nice Auto Sales, pleaded guilty to retaining an unregistered salesperson, contrary to the Motor Vehicle Dealers Act (MVDA), and was fined $12,500. Tian was charged by OMVIC, Ontario’s vehicle sales regulator, for allowing her husband, Zhijun Wang, to use her OMVIC Registration and ID to gain access to wholesale vehicle auctions where he purchased numerous vehicles. Many of the vehicles were then sold with rolled back odometers or altered VIN’s. Wang was also charged by OMVIC for acting as an unregistered salesperson: he was convicted and fined $25,000
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By OMVIC Communications on
Thursday, October 18, 2018
On a wintery day in 2016, roads slicked with freezing rain, Tian Cheng Kuang was behind the wheel of his 2013 Mercedes Benz C350 and found himself sliding into the Hyundai Sedan stopped in front of him. Kuang stated he wasn’t going fast but when he stepped from his car he found “the front end almost fell off,” and he wondered, “how come my Mercedes Benz isn’t stronger than a Hyundai?” The answer, it turned out, had everything to do with the history of the Mercedes and resulted in the dealer who sold Kuang the car being charged by OMVIC, Ontario’s vehicle sales regulator, for making false, misleading or deceptive representations in contravention of the Consumer Protection Act (CPA).
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By OMVIC Communications on
Friday, October 5, 2018
The way people communicate today…has changed, especially when texting. It’s almost a
new language: “TTFN” “IMHO” “SMH” “AFAIK.” We may pretend we understand, but secretly we’re making a mental note to look up those abbreviations later. All those capital letters, numbers and abbreviations— it makes one long for the days of handwritten correspondence when we actually took the time to spell out words.
Little is more confusing than acronyms. You know what an acronym is, right? That would be an abbreviation formed from the first letter of other words and pronounced as a word, as in OMVIC [spell this out phonetically] the Ontario Motor Vehicle Industry Council—not to be confused with an initialism—an abbreviation consisting of the first letter of other words, but pronounced separately as in MTO, the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario.
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By OMVIC Communications on
Friday, September 28, 2018
All-in pricing—it’s your right
Get your car-buying questions answered this Saturday at the Canadian Automotive Museum. OMVIC staff will be on hand at the museum in Oshawa, to help celebrate “Doors Open".
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By OMVIC Communications on
Wednesday, September 19, 2018
Buying a car is a huge financial commitment. As such, no one wants to end up with buyer’s remorse due to unexpected repairs, or realizing soon after purchase that the vehicle has undisclosed accident damage. Ontario’s consumer protection laws requires registered dealers to disclose if a vehicle requires repairs to major components or if it has been involved in a collision that resulted in more than $3,000 damage.
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By OMVIC Communications on
Wednesday, September 5, 2018
Leaning back against the hood of your car, one foot lifted behind resting on the bumper, silhouetted by a setting sun—a potentially awesome picture for a car lover. But despite the photographic and artistic appeal, it’s not a picture many car owners would risk today, because we’ve learned a sometimes painful and costly lesson: those little metal rivets on our jeans love chipping and scratching away at a vehicle’s paint, and that road grit we didn’t even notice, will grind into a beloved car’s clear coat like a small piece of sandpaper. Yes, leaning on your car can be a bad idea, and leaning on someone else’s car—well that’s a whole other level of social faux pas—but even that is not as serious as a lien on a car.
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By OMVIC Communications on
Thursday, August 30, 2018
Pre-Delivery Inspection: Important Steps to Take
Bought a new car and waiting to take delivery? Make sure the excitement you feel lasts for days and isn’t snuffed out by any unexpected disappointments. Keep calm and take your time; ensure all your questions/concerns are answered to YOUR satisfaction. To help with this process, OMVIC recommends making a ‘vehicle delivery’ checklist:
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By OMVIC Communications on
Friday, August 24, 2018
Recently a consumer wrote to OMVIC:
We recently purchased a used vehicle from an OMVIC Registered Dealer
We were charged an administrative fee of $199. We questioned this and were given a vague answer;
the salesman insinuated this was a normal charge. I thought dealers couldn’t add fees.”
There can be some confusion when it comes to All-in Price Advertising. So let's clarify.
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By OMVIC Communications on
Friday, August 17, 2018
You’ve known for a while that this day would come. And when your kids argued with you about the unfairness of curfews or doing chores, you might have even longed for it, but now that it's time for your darling daughter or son to head off to university or college, you realize you’re not prepared for them to leave home. Don’t worry about them…they’re more than ready. In an effort to stave off empty nest syndrome, you decide to get your offspring a car—nothing too fancy, just a cheap yet decent set of wheels, so they can drive home to visit at Thanksgiving, Christmas, Reading Week, or when they need to get four loads of laundry done.
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By OMVIC Communications on
Thursday, August 9, 2018
Electric Vehicle (EV) buyers who are expecting to receive a rebate from Ontario soon-to- be-cancelled Electric and Hydrogen Vehicle Incentive Program (EHVIP)should take steps to protect themselves from possible increased costs when signing a purchase contract. According to the Ministry of Transportation (MTO), in order for an EV buyer to qualify for the incentive (most rebates are between $7,000 -$14,000 depending on the EV purchased):
1. the vehicle purchased must be on MTO’s list of eligible vehicles
2. the dealership had to confirm the vehicle as part of its eligible inventory (in stock or ordered) with the MTO by July 16th
3. the customer has to take delivery of the vehicle before the program ends in September.
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By OMVIC Communications on
Thursday, August 2, 2018

Car-buyers have the right to expect Ontario dealers to include all fees and charges the dealer intends to collect, with the exception of HST and licensing (and safety standards certificate if the vehicle is advertised unfit/as-is) in any advertised price. It’s been the law since 2010.
Unfortunately though, research conducted by OMVIC, Ontario’s vehicle sales regulator, has uncovered two significant problems: less than half of Ontario car-buyers know they have a right to all-in pricing; and, many are being overcharged because some dealers continue to add fees on top of their advertised prices.
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